I "overbought" when I started DIYing about 4 years ago, then found myself with well over 800 flavours but nothing to make.
So I refrained from reading this sub daily & stopped the search for the "ultimate" recipe, as I found myself with 20+ new flavours each week when only wanting to buy 1... curse those minimum order rules!
In the end I stuck with what I had, didn't restock for the past 2 years (sucralose and ws-23 free for about 4 months now, hah) and had some fun coming up with different personal recipes (85% of them sucked to the point I never tried them again) depending on my mood/the weather
However it looks like most left over are out of date by at least a year. The worst part being these flavours are things like FA's "premium custard", FLV "Milk" and INW's "yes we cheesecake".... expensive & useful, ya'know? Things I bought with a specific recipe in mind that got lost in my bookmark cache.
I found I prefer fruity + icy recipes & dislike waiting, hence why these sort of flavours are the last few left. It doesn't mean I can't have a few bottles steeping for a rainy day
I remember reading that some flavourings weaken when past their expiration date while others change taste completely. Can some also be harmful to vape? I also question if these expiration dates are arbitrary or scientific
Even just a simple change in strength can muck up a taste test with notes, so should I go monkey with the percentages, experiment I guess, and hope for the best?
Or give up on them & bin them? Specifically the bakery/milky sort of ones I mean.
Any sort of taste test would be valid only for a single 10ml bottle. I can't help but feel it'd be a waste of time
I know that fruity flavours may be a dif story, because I had some "recka sexy mango" and "fa pink sock" 2 yrs out of date, both tasted like dogs ass when I first tested, but tasty when outdated.
I guess I should also ask whilst buying new flavours
a. is CAP super sweet still the go-to sweetner, or is there a new and improved or more popular sweetener around now?
b. are there any essential flavours for fruity/candy/cocktail/drink mixes that've been released or became popular in the past 2 years? I'm looking at VTA sugarloaf pineapple (sounds yummy af) and WF island mango SC right now, but there's thousands of new flavours that sound like mouth'gasm
c. is ws-23 still "safe" and still the defacto standard for an icy vape without altering the flavour?
Flavors do not expire. That date is arbitrary. Yes they can certainly fade over time. But that depends on how they are stored. Only way to know is to test them. No, they won't be harmful.
A.) it depends on the application. Cap Super Sweet is best for fruits imo because of the citric acid. For other uses, go with fw sweetener.
B.) Yes there are quite a few great flavors. It all depends on what you want and are looking for.
C) nothing is technically safe when it comes to inhaling things, but yes, ws-23 is pretty common.
Most of my flavours are over 3 years old. They are still fine as far as I can tell.
a. Yes, CAP SS is still widely used, but a lot of people also like FW Sweetener
b. There are probably too many to sum up. Join the discord if you want to discuss this with people. Way easier.
c. Yes.
id test stuff plain before throwing anything out, anything revolting i would just throw and keep the rest of the stuff. Use it plain or mix it and experiment and keep notes so you can make it again if its good. I can see some changing completely because they are often many ingredients to make a concentrate and some will loose its fragrance faster then others in the mix.
I also have some concentrates that were not quite right, even though they had good reviews. With not much to loose I left the lids off, under the pergola in the back yard to let them breath for 6 months giving them a shake if I seen them. they are all pretty much the same, some still unvapeable, some useable but only if I had nothing else. They were all destined to be put in a box then chucked away when I found it or did a spring cleaning. They include cap: apple pie v2, green apple, juicy peach (this is ok but not peach at all), tangy orange (its Ok too), FA: juicy strawberry (smells good, taste doesnt match), watermelon TFA: cola smells good, tastes like chemicals
I had a premade red bull in 24mg that sat for over 6 years, it sat in my steeping drawer for prob 4ish and on the top shelf of my pc desk for 2ish after the last test. Still tasted pretty much the same, 99% that I recall and nic was still strong. It did have a more complex flavour but it never was to my liking. I did have a coffee that sat for a couple of years and it was great, except it killed wicks and coils (rewick and dry burn daily). It was good but less is more for me, there is no such thing as the ultimate vape
I dont see why you are looking to buy more if you have 800 bottles of concentrate
Most of this sounds good, but I have to disagree with putting your flavor concentrates outside with the caps off. You want to always leave your flavors tightly capped. Flavor molecules can escape. Also I would never leave mine outside, or expose them to the sun at all. Just keep them inside and out of direct exposure to sunlight. Many of my flavors are expired, but I just go by taste-if they taste good I use them until they are gone.